Noob Lighting

I get that and I appreciate the good looking out. As the new kid in here, I asked a question, some helpful people answered it with reference material. The reference material gave a very good explanation of the reef lighting requirements. According to the link I provided, I would like to know why those cheaper lights will not work. That's all. Because based on what the article says, they should be exactly what is needed.
 
freddy4130;245840 wrote: Skriz, chill out. Let's not pretend that you have an emotional attachment to me and you care what I do. Just asking questions. Count to ten, take a deep breath and realize that we are only talking about lights here, not national security. And the entire purpose of the thread is that the aesthetics of the fixture IS GREATLY IMPORTANT TO ME. Thanks.
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Ha! I'm not pretending that I care about you whatsoever. If you want emotional support, you're in the wrong forum cheif; you may want to check out a different website for those issues.

You're asking questions and you're getting answers. You have to be prepared to not like some of the answers you're going to get.

If you're so concerned with aesthetics, then why on earth are you looking at these cfl bulbs and flood lights? I proposed a legitimate solution for you and was in no way trying to push some button I obviously did. Since you know nothing about lighting (post #1...you're a noob), people who do know are going to try and steer you in the right direction. If advice is not something you're looking for, then posting here is a complete waste of time.

But, don't let me stop you from listing numerous ridiculous bulbs asking if they are the perfect</em> bulb for a reef.
 
If I am reading correctly they only provide 3-4 watts of light and that is no way to go man. I think the power compacts I had on my first reef were like 200+ watts of light. They make the LED's for reefs. They are way cool. They are around $2000 for a starter set.
 
Ace of Spades;245859 wrote: Do you have a clue about what livestock you would like to keep? Softies, LPS, SPS, clams, or will you go Fish Only?

Your lighting will be one of the determining factors to what you can/cannot keep.
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Seriously, you want to keep saltwater fish right? Just trying to get a step in the right direction. I used some 6500k cfls in a 10g frag tank. they sort of worked. Things lived, but I got no growth. If you're planning on trying like a 10g nano or something. I say try the led floodlight it might look cool, and it'll super cheap to operate...worst case scenario is you're stuck using it as a floodlight...lol.

Ok, so some mostly yes/no's for ya:
Do you want to keep salt water fish?
Do you want to keep any type of coral?
Do you know what size tank you'd like to keep? (10g/20g/30g/55g/120g/210g...)
 
Skriz;245857 wrote: Ha! I'm not pretending that I care about you whatsoever. If you want emotional support, you're in the wrong forum cheif; you may want to check out a different website for those issues.

You're asking questions and you're getting answers. You have to be prepared to not like some of the answers you're going to get.

If you're so concerned with aesthetics, then why on earth are you looking at these cfl bulbs and flood lights? I proposed a legitimate solution for you and was in no way trying to push some button I obviously did. Since you know nothing about lighting (post #1...you're a noob), people who do know are going to try and steer you in the right direction. If advice is not something you're looking for, then posting here is a complete waste of time.

But, don't let me stop you from listing numerous ridiculous bulbs asking if they are the perfect</em> bulb for a reef.
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It is not about the bulb, but the type of fixture that can be used with the bulb. See what I mean. And there is nothing wrong with the answer you gave, you are just rude and have the tact of a blimp.
 
ok, freddy just tell us the answers to stickxs questions. they will help all of us a bunch.
 
stickx911;245892 wrote: Seriously, you want to keep saltwater fish right? Just trying to get a step in the right direction. I used some 6500k cfls in a 10g frag tank. they sort of worked. Things lived, but I got no growth. If you're planning on trying like a 10g nano or something. I say try the led floodlight it might look cool, and it'll super cheap to operate...worst case scenario is you're stuck using it as a floodlight...lol.

Ok, so some mostly yes/no's for ya:
Do you want to keep salt water fish?
Do you want to keep any type of coral?
Do you know what size tank you'd like to keep? (10g/20g/30g/55g/120g/210g...)
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I would just like to understand better. I guess. the wetweb article gave all kinds of numbers and frequencies and wavelength jargon. And the CFL site says that those lights are the same thing as far as the numbers go. So why are they NOT good for a reef? I am not getting any real answer here and that's fine. I totally understand that the ones that have been proven to work obviously work. The question is why are the ones that are said to simulate real daylight not as good as the ones that reefers use that simulate daylight?
 
I think you are missing what everybody has been asking you here. Exactly are you wanting to put this on. We can go round and round about this but unless you are willing to provide a bit more info about what you are trying to accomplish its a complete wast of time. So how about some specifics as to what you are trying to do.
 
freddy4130;245826 wrote: ... Obviously, I am wrong, but it is funny.
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Not trying to be rude, just playing off of the above statement of yours. I forgot to add the :) to the end of my statement which made it appear rude where I was just jabbing you a little.

Anyhoo-since you are trying to use a standard bulb socket, there is only one bulb I know of that will work okay. HD sells it and it's the lights of America brand 6500k quad cfl. You can buy the whole fixture actually for a reasonable price. There are a couple of problems though: it's yellow and you're VERY limited as to what you can keep.

Why are you so against the standard fixtures available for the hobby? In the long run, they end up saving you a TON of money and aggravation.
 
I think I see what you're after. I'll try and keep as much technical jargon out as possible.

The cfl's don't work because of intensity. They may have the wavelength that will simulate sunlight, but they don't have the intensity. You corals will rely on a measurement of par/ppfd; the cfl's will not provide an adequate amount of par. The will also not penetrate deep enough into the water column. It will illuminate okay, but it will not provide the quality of light that you need.
 
freddy4130;245915 wrote: I would just like to understand better. I guess. the wetweb article gave all kinds of numbers and frequencies and wavelength jargon. And the CFL site says that those lights are the same thing as far as the numbers go. So why are they NOT good for a reef? I am not getting any real answer here and that's fine. I totally understand that the ones that have been proven to work obviously work. The question is why are the ones that are said to simulate real daylight not as good as the ones that reefers use that simulate daylight?
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OK I think I know where you are going with this. What you are trying to get is penetration through the water. I could put a full spectrum bulb from Lowes on top of my tank but the light would bounce off the top of the water. Sure it would light up the tank but you wont have around the same amount of light at the bottom as you do the top. If that was the case then you would have everything at the top off water and nothing midway and at the bottom. That wouldnt look good at all.
 
I don't really mind them at all. If it were up to me, I would put a dang street light in the basement over an inflatable pool full of seawater critters. My wife hates the way the fixtures look and I hate the way the furniture stands and canopies look. See, if I could find lighting that I could put into fixtures that match the house, then I would adjust my livestock accordingly. That's all I ever meant. Even if it means I cannot have as much cool stuff.
 
So. I got it. I "could" have those lights, but I would only be able to have a cookie sheet for an aquarium.
 
You can make fixtures that'll match your house and use almost ANY type of lighting, even MH!

OR, you can buy the sleek fixtures that look pretty nice by themselves.
 
freddy4130;245933 wrote: So. I got it. I "could" have those lights, but I would only be able to have a cookie sheet for an aquarium.
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Bingo!
 
so you are telling us you dont like the look of these
tek-light-6.jpg
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or
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chefrepo;245917 wrote: I think you are missing what everybody has been asking you here. Exactly are you wanting to put this on. We can go round and round about this but unless you are willing to provide a bit more info about what you are trying to accomplish its a complete wast of time. So how about some specifics as to what you are trying to do.
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Ok. I think the closest thing to what I like is the JBJ Viper fixture. The problem is that it looks like a radar detector or some mod for an asian car tuner. You know? If I could use something that will work with a regular light I could have a fixture like...
http://www.billiardsupplyuniverse.com/PoolTable/Billiard-Light_3190390.html">http://www.billiardsupplyuniverse.com/PoolTable/Billiard-Light_3190390.html</a>

And if not, could I retro something into a fixture like...
[IMG]http://www.billiardsupplyuniverse.com/PoolTable/Carson-Brass-Game-Table_3973617.html">http://www.billiardsupplyuniverse.com/PoolTable/Carson-Brass-Game-Table_3973617.html</a>

Obviously not exactly that, but you get the idea. I only want the aquarium to look like an aquarium, not the rest of the mess that goes with it.
 
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